In November 1996, the EEOC district office in Birmingham, Alabama brought this suit against the Federal Express Corporation, an international parcel courier, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Although the complaint is currently unavailable, the order for partial ...
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In November 1996, the EEOC district office in Birmingham, Alabama brought this suit against the Federal Express Corporation, an international parcel courier, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Although the complaint is currently unavailable, the order for partial summary judgment states that the EEOC alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The aggrieved employee claimed that Federal Express failed to reasonably accommodate her after the defendant determined the aggrieved employee could not fulfill her courier duties.

Both parties moved for summary judgment, and in May 1998 the court granted the defendant's motion on the dispositive issue of whether the employer had in fact made reasonable accommodation efforts. The court noted that Federal Express attempted to accommodate the aggrieved employee by (1) allowing her ninety days to apply for any other job with Federal Express that she was qualified for; (2) provided her with access to a weekly comprehensive list of open positions; (3) giving her an unlimited number of Job Change Applications; (4) giving her preferential hiring status to any lateral or lower position within the Federal Express Ground division; and (5) making Federal Express' Human Capital Management Committee available to consider any proposed accommodation the aggrieved employee may request. The court ruled that the aforementioned attempts at accommodation were reasonable as a matter of law. The aggrieved employee appealed the decision of the District Court but lost when the appellate court affirmed.